


Haunt This House and Make It a Home

by ativanpire



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Ben Hargreeves is Dead, F/M, Past Relationship(s), no beta- we die like Ben
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-05
Updated: 2019-09-05
Packaged: 2020-10-10 10:37:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20526626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ativanpire/pseuds/ativanpire
Summary: Vanya misses Ben.





	Haunt This House and Make It a Home

**Author's Note:**

> warning for very, very brief suicidal ideation. I know it's short but it's my first time posting so thank you for your patience with me getting the hang of formatting, etc. please be nice? my username is the same on tumblr if you want to chat.

She hears Ben in the tick of her metronome, steady and soothing. And if she listens hard enough to its hypnotic rhythm, she can almost pretend that it's his heart beating under her cheek late at night before the accident. She feels him in the pressure of her bag hanging from one shoulder, not warm or light enough to be his touch but grounding all the same. If she tries to lean into it expecting to find his body, no one needs to know. Sometimes she pulls on one of his hoodies and thinks she can still smell him and wonders whether this is how Klaus feels. Haunted. Can you be haunted and alone at the same time?

Sounds feel different. She feels them echo in her chest but instead of filling the empty space they just reverberate painfully. She feels hollow, sounds hollow. 

It rains a lot that first year. The rain tapping on the window is not like her metronome. Its chaotic, staccato beat is more like the anxious drumming of her heart. As she soothes her rapidfire pulse, she wishes she could slow it to a stop.

Vanya falls asleep in the library and wakes up sore from the hardbacked chairs. But sometimes right before she falls asleep, she hears familiar footsteps coming closer. She feels the vibrations in the old wooden floorboards travel up her body like a caress. She hears the whispery sound of pages turning. 

She's afraid to open her eyes because of what she might not see.


End file.
